


she's an uptown, get-around, anything-goes girl (a hardcore, candy-store, give-me-some-more girl)

by wherehopelies



Series: If You Want, We'll Share This Life (When Nobody Understands You, Well, I Do) [6]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, HSAU, Pining, ab puns, becas in the drumline bc i love drumline bye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 09:53:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13995750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wherehopelies/pseuds/wherehopelies
Summary: "Beca has a crush. And boy does she have it bad. It’s like every goddamn lame cliche where the nerdy band kid falls for the cute cheerleader. It’s straight out of some stupid movie. God Jesse is never going to let her live this down."Bemily week day 6 - marching band/cheer captain





	she's an uptown, get-around, anything-goes girl (a hardcore, candy-store, give-me-some-more girl)

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

“Come on, Becs, marching band is cool.”

Beca scoffs over at her best friend. “No it isn’t. It’s like the staple for geekdom.”

“Okay, fine,” Jesse admits. “Marching band isn’t that cool. But drumline is cool. And that’s what I recruited you for.”

“The fuck is drumline?”

Jesse gapes. “You know, like the movie?” Beca just stares and Jesse throws his arms in the air. “Oh my God. How are we best friends?!”

Beca asks herself that every day.

//

“So you just slip it on and…”

“OOMPH.” The weight of the bass drum crashes into her as Jesse releases it. Beca teeters on her feet and Jesse steadies her.

He smirks at her. “That drum is as big as you.”

“Fuck _off_ , Swanson.”

//

So this is how she’s spending her freshman year. Marching around a field, going to competitions, filling the stands at basketball games, all while giving herself some goddamn future back problems lugging this huge ass bass drum around.

Also the outfits are fucking atrocious.

Well, except at basketball games. They get to wear school t-shirts and jeans at those so like, whatever.

Still, Beca finds she doesn’t… hate it.

Drumline is pretty fun, even if the rest of the band kids are lame as fuck. Well, except like, Ashley and Cynthia Rose from the trumpet section. They’re alright.

So yeah. She’s marching to the beat of her own drum or whatever.

//

Maybe she marches a little too awesomely though, because the next year she becomes the section leader and like, _fuck that,_ dude.

Responsibility blows.

//

Junior year, she switches to snare.

Her back can’t take another year of that huge bass drum.

She’s the leader now and she can do what she wants.

She passes it on to some other tiny freshman. Whatever. It’s a rite of passage.

~~~

“Emily,” Aubrey sighs and swings her ponytail over her shoulder. It’s very intimidating.

“Um…” Emily stares, having been called into the locker room early to have a private talk with the cheer captain. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Aubrey purses her lips and Emily gets the sense she’s being sized up. “As you know, it’s my senior year.”

Emily nods. “Uh huh…”

“And next year, I’ll need to pass the baton on to someone else,” Aubrey huffs as if this is completely unacceptable and not some required thing that happens like every year or two.

“Right…”

“And that person… is you.”

Emily blinks. “Me?”

“Yes.” Aubrey taps her chin. “Chloe’s graduating and I fear Stacie has too many other obligations with her other extracurricular activities to put in the right amount of commitment that’s expected.”

“Oh.”

“You’re talented, and I think you’re a natural leader. You just need some more confidence. Which is why…” Aubrey pauses, her eyes raking over Emily critically. “You are officially in training.”

Emily kind of feels like she’s being Punk’d but it’s Aubrey so, like, that’s not likely. “Umm, okay.”

“This is what I mean. Say _yes_ and own it.”

“Uh.” Emily frowns. “Yes?”

Aubrey sighs. “We have a lot of work to do.”

//

Emily is distracted.

And it’s not really her fault. Okay, maybe a little. But not _really_. It’s just that she thinks the marching band is _so_ fun. She lowkey wants to be a flag twirler, but even Chloe, the nicest human ever, says that’s lame.

So.

They’re set to do their halftime routine after the band finishes theirs, and Emily is _supposed_ to be doing her last minute static stretches, but she wants to _watch_.

And there is _such_ a good beat. She wants to dance.

She taps her fingers against her skirt, eyes roving the field until the finds the source of the beat. Drums.

One in particular.

The section leader. Emily remembers her from last year. Her drum was gigantic. But now she has a snare drum and Emily’s staring.

The girl is smirking, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She looks really cool.

“Emily!”

Emily jolts at Aubrey’s voice.

She casts one last glance at the girl, then jogs over to her squad.

//

Emily likes music.

That’s why she likes cheerleading. She likes to dance and have fun and look cute.

Sometimes she writes her own songs, but she can never get them to sound exactly like she wants them to. She wonders if it’s because Aubrey is right and she doesn’t have enough confidence.  

She thinks it doesn’t even need to be lyrically good. She just wants to write a bubblegum pop song you can dance to.

Something that makes her feel happy and alive.

//

Emily has study hall third period so she goes to the library to do her homework.

There are a few empty tables but the drum section leader is there and Emily pauses.

Then because sometimes she doesn’t really think before she does things, she sits down at the girl’s table.

The girl blinks and looks up at her, mouth twisted like Emily just committed a deadly sin.

“Can I help you?” She asks, taking out one of her earbuds and looking at Emily with these judging eyes.

They’re really pretty eyes.

“You’re in the marching band,” Emily says.

The girl raises her eyebrows. “Yeah. Unfortunately.”

Emily frowns. “You’re in the drumline.”

“Yep.” The girl sighs like it pains her.

“Like, the leader of the drum people, right?”

The girl gives her a curious glance before smiling, just a little. Emily thinks it’s cute. She wants to make the girl smile again.

“Yeah. Sort of.” Her eyes narrow like she’s thinking, then - “You’re a cheerleader.”

“Yup,” Emily beams.

“Right. And you’re sitting with me because…?”

Emily doesn’t really have an answer, but the girl definitely looks like she’s expecting one, so Emily says the first thing that comes to her brain.

“Um, I’m in training to be the head cheerleader and Aubrey says I need more confidence. And you’re the drum leader and you always look _so_ confident, even when you had to carry that huge drum.” The girl scoffs and Emily hurries to continue. “Anyway, maybe you could help me because I really need some help.”

And really, it’s not even true, it’s just that _after_ she says it, she realizes it’s not really _un_ true either.

“Also I think you’re really cute.”

Emily blushes, but so does the drum girl so.

Aaah.

“Well, I don’t know anything about cheerleading and Aubrey hates me and I don’t have time because in case you haven’t noticed, it’s football and competition season.”

Emily pouts. “I have this as a study hall period every day. How about now? I’ll totally pay you in cookies. I make really good cookies.”

The girl hesitates, looking back and forth between Emily and her English book on the table. Then she shrugs. “It’s better than homework, I guess.”

Emily whoops and does a fist pump, earning her a _shhh_ from the librarian and an incredulous look from the drum girl. “I’m Emily,” she says, sticking out her hand.

The girl stares at it for the briefest of seconds, then shakes it. Her hands are really soft and small.

“Beca,” the girl says. “Beca Mitchell.”

~~

Beca never should have agreed to help Emily Junk do… whatever it is they’re doing.

Emily calls them confidence lessons. Beca thinks it’s a load of bullshit.

After about a week of telling Emily how she needs to act more aloof and like, cross her arms more menacingly, and Emily saying that she feels mean and can’t, Beca’s not really sure of the point.

“That’s what I do, and that’s what Aubrey does. You just… stand more menacingly!”

“This is just how I stand!”

Beca groans.

This is so dumb.

But Emily’s cookies are like, really fucking good. And she keeps _bringing_ them.

Whatever, Beca reminds herself. It’s better than her fucking homework.

//

Beca regrets everything just a little bit more when the next home game comes around.

Beca’s pretty sure it’s against all the dress codes, so why are the cheerleaders allowed to show off their abs?

Like, Beca’s used to it, obviously. She’s seen them around school the past three years.

It’s just… she’s never been like, semi-friends with a cheerleader. Which means she’s never had abs right in her face like this.

“Beca,” Emily waves her hand in front of Beca’s eyes. “Earth to Beca.”

Beca shakes herself out of it. “Uh… huh?” Sort of.

“I like your marching band shirt,” Emily says, pulling out her seat across the table and plopping down, fluffing out her cheer skirt and crossing her legs.

Oh my God her _legs_ , they’re like a mile goddamn long.

Beca blinks. “Thanks.”

“Are you okay?” Emily asks, scrunching her nose in slight worry.

“Yep. Absolutely abtastic. Uh. FAN. Fantastic! ”

Emily gives her a strange look. “Okay… well here, I brought you some snickerdoodles.” And she passes Beca a Ziploc baggie full of cookies.

Beca shoves one in her mouth so she doesn’t make a bigger fool of herself.

//

Okay so it’s not even just the abs and the legs and all that.

It’s Emily’s kind eyes and her easy smile and how shiny her hair is. It’s her laugh and the way she dropped a book once and said “whoopsie daisy” as it fell to the ground. It’s her delicious cookies and the way she has of telling a story that makes Beca laugh until her stomach hurts.

Beca doesn’t get it.

Emily doesn’t need confidence lessons. Emily _is_ confident. Just, not in the way Beca is, and certainly not in the way Aubrey is. She’s like, self-assured, which for all her outward appearance, Beca usually sure as hell isn’t.

Beca has a crush. And boy does she have it bad.

It’s like every goddamn lame cliche where the nerdy band kid falls for the cute cheerleader. It’s straight out of some stupid movie.

God Jesse is never going to let her live this down.

//

“You know,” Emily says one day when they’re _actually_ doing homework because they both have tests coming up. “You joined marching band and I joined cheer for the same reason.”

“School spirit?” Her voice is laced with sarcasm and Emily scrunches her nose at it.

“No,” she says. “Music.”

Beca wonders if she could ever roll on her snare as quick as her heart is going.

//

Beca finds herself looking for Emily on the field at halftime. The band has just done their thing and the cheerleaders are getting ready to go on after the principal makes some announcements.

Beca sees her doing some last minute stretches just a little ways away and waves.

Emily waves back.

//

She likes football games okay, but she hates football players.

“Nice junk, Junk.”

She mostly hates the quarterback, Bumper Allen.

Actually, she kind of wants to punch him in the face. And honestly, maybe she would have, but in some insane plot twist Beca didn’t see coming, Emily doesn’t need her to.

“Nice fumble on the goal line, Bumper,” Emily says back to him with this sickly sweet smile and Beca has absolutely no fucking clue what a fumble is, but Bumper’s staring daggers at Emily and marching away like she just crushed the last of his fragile masculinity between her thumb and pointer fingers.

Beca thinks she’s in love.

~~

“Emily, who do you like?”

They’re having a team sleepover and Chloe’s painting Emily’s nails and they’re all gossipping.

“I like everyone,” Emily says, because it’s true. Well, mostly true. She doesn’t really like Bumper Allen. He keeps commenting on how nice her legs are.

“No,” Chloe laughs. “Who do you _like_ like?”

Emily stomach twists because she hadn’t really thought about it much, but as soon as Chloe asks, Beca’s face pops into her brain.

“If you say someone on the football team I will personally rip out your vocal chords and feed them to the wolves,” Aubrey says.

Emily shakes her head. “Nope, no football players.”

“Soccer?” Jessica asks.

“Ooh,” Stacie coos. “A wrestler?”

Emily shakes her head again. “Uh no, no athletes.”

“Someone in DECA?”

“No.”

“Is he in the AV Club?”

Emily sputters. “No! She - they’re in marching band.”

“Is it Benji?” Flo asks.

“No.”

Chloe squeezes her hand. “Don’t worry about them, Em.” She leans in close to whisper to Emily. “I had a crush on a band girl once, too.”

Emily’s eyes widen. “You did?”

“Oh yeah,” Chloe smirks. “They can do wonders with their mouths.”

Emily blushes.

//

“So, you definitely don’t need confidence lessons,” Beca tells her during their next study hall.

“I don’t?” Emily asks. She can’t stop looking at Beca’s mouth. She tears her gaze up to Beca’s eyes.

“Uh, no, dude.. You like, ripped Bumper Allen a new one.”

Emily frowns. “Oh.... You heard that. It was kind of mean. I felt bad after.”

“Really.” Beca snorts. “Dude is major douchebag.”

“I guess.”

“I thought it was awesome. You shouldn’t let him say that stuff. You’re great and cool and hot. Own it.” Beca shrugs.

Emily’s stomach does a cartwheel. “You think I’m great?”

Beca’s eyes widen. “I mean. For a cheerleader,” she mutters, her cheeks pinking.

“Is that why you were staring at me dance?” Emily grins, feeling just a little playful when a mortified look crosses Beca’s face.

“I mean. Everyone was. It’s like. Part of the show. And school… spirit. Or. Whatever.”

“Uh huh.”

Emily maybe feels a little bad when Beca looks like she wishes she could be anywhere else. “Well… and… your abs? And you have good rhythm and… your… abs.”

Emily laughs. “Yeah, they’re pretty great right?” And she pulls up her shirt a little, causing Beca to squeak and cover her eyes.

“Dude, put those away!” She glances over her shoulder, but the librarian isn’t anywhere in sight. Emily lets her t-shirt fall back down, grinning. “Oh my God, you should be like, illegal. I told you… you do not need confidence lessons.”

And maybe it’s because she’s feeling especially good, or maybe it’s because Beca’s right and she doesn’t need confidence lessons, or maybe it’s just because she wants to, but she decides to push her luck just a little.

“So you wanna like, hang out? Like, not at school I mean.”

Beca glances at her. “Uh. Like… To study?”

“No,” Emily grins. “Like, a date kind of. I mean that’s why you think I’m hot, right?”

Beca covers her eyes, her face falling into her hands with a groan. “Oh my fucking God,” she whispers to herself. She scowls up at Emily. “Never tell me you’re not confident again. I’m fucking serious.”

Emily laughs. “So… is that a yes or…?”

“Yeah! Yes.” Beca’s like a tomato. Emily thinks she’s so cute. “Whatever, just please stop this, it’s way too much.”

“You’re cute,” Emily says. Then just because it’s clearly working and she can, she grabs her backpack, kisses Beca on the cheek, and says, “text you later.”

Then she leaves, glancing over her shoulder just once to see Beca gaping after her.

Totally worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu emilyjunk.tumblr.com... accepting prompts for free choice day


End file.
